♟ I never Understood the Game of Chess!! ♟
Well… okay, I did, but I was never analytical enough to win a game. It required too much strategizing, inferring, calculating, and methodical focus. Agh! 🤯
Do you ever feel like you’re in the middle of a chess game, life seems to be playing against you, and you’re more of a washout than a winner? You make one move, thinking it’s a good one, but then you actually end up jeopardizing the safety of the king (or in this case, your heart?)
Just as your ‘Guard your King’ in Chess, the Lord calls us to ‘Guard our Hearts’ in our lives. Our hearts are among the most precious and valuable things about us, but they are also deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9).
Many people think the command to ‘Guard your Heart’ is strictly relative to relationships, but I think this is also a command for daily life. What is your heart focused on, and is it biblical? Are you making decisions based on your head 🧠 or your emotions ❤️? Are you approaching major life decisions thoroughly, with prayer, and in accordance to Scripture – or are you making assumptions and placing expectations on a decision without considering all pieces of the puzzle?
And sometimes you do everything right. You pray, you lean on the Word, you seek counsel, and your decisions still seem to leave your heart in a vulnerable position. Sometimes you’re in a season where you just look to Heaven and say “God – what exactly is your plan here?” (🙋🏼♀️ 100% CAN relate!)
To that I say – God is not the God of confusion. He will play the chess game for us, so we never need to fear losing. But there are also times where He doesn’t give us the full picture. This could be to humble us, or to strengthen our faith and trust in Him. Or sometimes … it’s simply not our business to know 🤷🏼♀️. But we DO know that His desire is that all would come to Him (2 Peter 3:9) and that He works through us for the advancement of His Kingdom. He sees the full board, and the end of the game is not a secret (Spoiler Alert: He gets the Checkmate!) We can’t be separated from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39), so if He leads you, He will not leave you.
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⚡️ “And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8 ⚡️
Written by Erin C: Erin served for four years as a Marketing Assistant and Staff Writer. She loves encouraging women through her Victory Calls and finds such joy in praying for her sisters in Christ. Her favorite activities include reading her Bible, encouraging others with scripture, spending time with her precious nieces, shopping, and eating at the Cheesecake Factory… In that order!
